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Hopping a Trolley In Vienna

By ERIK SANDBERG-DIMENT

Published: August 11, 1996

Correction Appended

THE classical Vienna of music, coffeehouses and monumental Romanesque architecture is also, surprisingly, the Vienna of trolleys. The Viennese take their trolleys, part of one of the finest public transportation systems in the world, for granted. Most visitors, on the other hand, see the constant flow of red and white streetcars only through the viewfinder of a camera. Which is a mistake, for it really pays to hop a trolley and ride the rails just as the Viennese do. It's by far the best way to see the city that stretches toward the hills and plains beyond its compact, walkable medieval core.

It is also an easy way to get outside Vienna for a half day or longer -- to visit the cloisters at Klosterneuburg or to walk among the vineyards beyond Hutteldorf. Typical of the rewarding day trips one can take on the red and white trolley is a run from one end to the other on the No. 38. Combined with a walk through the Vienna Woods, punctuated perhaps with an Einspanner (black coffee with whipped cream), a wine spritzer or a leisurely meal at one of the mountain restaurants overlooking the Danube far below, this trip from the heart of the city to the picturesque wine-growing hills of Grinzing is a traditional day's excursion.

The ride begins at the Schottentor trolley roundabout, reachable from most major hotels by either the No. 1 or the No. 2 streetcars that circle the Ring around central Vienna in either direction.

As you wait for the No. 38 on the Schottentor platform, the 40, 41, 42 and even the 37 may circle past you. The trolleys run frequently, so don't be tempted to take the 37 simply because it's only one digit off.

Once the 38 pulls in, see if there happen to be any empty seats at the front of the second car. The two front seats of the trailer, as it's called, are preferable to the ones in back when it comes to affording the best view. They are also close to the front doors -- the trolleys lend themselves well to hopping off and on again at points of interest, something one can do an unlimited amount of times with a day ticket.

Starting on its way to Grinzing, the No. 38 will climb immediately from the underground roundabout to street level. On your left, across Sigmund Freud Park and the Rooseveltplatz, you will see the imposing Votivkirche, a ''modern'' (1859-1879) church, with dripping sandcastle spires, erected by Archduke Maximilian in gratitude for the failure of an attempted assassination of Emperor Franz Joseph. Then, quite quickly, you will find yourself in the narrow, typically Continental confines of Wahringer Strasse.

This is the university district. The trolley's first stop will be Schwarzspanierstrasse. It might be early in your journey to stop for coffee. Then again, if you are curious about the college environs, get off and walk a block and a half up Wahringer Strasse to a small, pleasant cafe on the right, Cafe Stadlmann. This one is a favorite of students. Since it was my mother's Stammlokal, or regular hangout, in her student days, it's also one I never fail to drop by. On my last visit I overheard earnest discussions on a planned strike against reduced educational subsidies, something dear to the heart of Vienna's young -- and not so young -- intellectuals, whose studies are generously financed by the state.

Retrace your steps to Schwarzspanierstrasse or hop back on the trolley at Sensengasse, its next stop.

At Spitalgasse, the No. 38 lurches to the right to run along Nussdorfer Strasse. Among the stops along this street is Alserbachstrasse, at the corner of which stands the Nussdorfer Strasse Markthalle, or market hall. Built in 1879, this edifice was until 1995 a classic old-fashioned market of the kind whose stone floor was regularly and haphazardly strewn with fish heads and leek tops. Then it went through a ''Generalsanierung'' (restoration), as a new brass plaque by the main entrance announces. Now it's all sparkling tiles and the hall is lined with franchises like Ankor Brot and Nord See. However, it is still a good place to pick up bread, fruit, smoked fish and other delicacies for a picnic in the Vienna Woods.

At the Canisiusgasse stop is a small, unimposing gray building, its front adorned with the Austrian red and white shield and flag that in Vienna designate a historic site. 54 Nussdorfer Strasse is the birthplace (or Geburthaus) of Franz Schubert, now a small museum. Most of the original furnishings have been removed, although Schubert's original five-pedaled piano with its abbreviated keyboard is still there. Individual and family portraits and photographs, and reproductions of his early sheet music are also displayed. Unfortunately, none of the descriptive plaques are in English. Using headsets, you can to listen to excellent renditions of ''Die Schone Mullerin,'' the Symphony in C and other pieces.

A bit farther on, at Glatzgasse, the No. 38 makes a left onto Billrothstrasse. Here you might consider leaving the trolley to walk up a longish but agreeable block to Schegargasse, the Erste Wiener Gasthof Brauerei, Vienna's first microbrewery, with a tree-shaded garden. Open every afternoon and evening, this convivial establishment, besides featuring live jazz, produces Vienna's own Fisher Brau, a flavorsome brew reminiscent of the original Budweiser still found today in the Czech Republic.